Toyota in France – Culture ClashEssay Preview: Toyota in France – Culture ClashReport this essayToyota in France: Culture Clash?Hiroaki Watanabe, the Japanese general manager of the first major Toyota plant in Valenciennes, France (and in continental Europe), has a lot at stake. He is in charge of a modern and efficient $570 million Toyota Motor factory designed to manufacture the Yaris, a subcompact car. The plant was designed to employ 2,000 workers. Currently, there are about 200 Japanese managers and 150 Japanese trainers on staff. The remaining employees are mostly French. Culturally speaking, there were many potential areas of conflict between the Japanese and French customs. For example, the plant holds calisthenics at 8:00 A.M. every morning to avoid starting off the day “cold” and being more prone to injuries. This is a common Japanese practice that is not frequently done in France. Also, the plant does not serve wine at lunch, a common practice in other French organizations. As is common in other Japanese firms, blue and gray windbreaker jackets are made available with the word “Toyota” on the back and the employees name on the front.
To help bridge these and other potential cultural gaps, the leadership of the venture needs to understand the potential cultural clashes that these issues can cause. How did Mr. Watanabe prepare himself for this high-profile assignment? Although fluent in English, he decided that he would learn French and as much about French culture as possible. After all, the vast majority of workers at the plant would be from northern France. To prepare himself, he traveled to France as a tourist and visited the Toyota plant in Canada. He conducted interviews in French, with assistance of an interpreter, in order to improve his language skills.
Are his efforts succeeding? Toyota had high hopes for this first major undertaking in continental Europe. Its goal was to increase its market share that was 3.7 percent in 2001, less than half its share in the United States in that year. In 2004, Toyota surpassed this goal by achieving a 5.3 percent market share in Europe, higher than both Mercedes and Audi. The French employees at the Toyota plant have a lot at stake when one considers that the Valenciennes area, a former coal and steel region, suffers from high unemployment with closing of many companies in heavy industry over the past 20 years. To underscore the importance of Toyota to this region, more than 30,000 people applied for the 2,000 jobs at the factory when it first opened its doors.
Truck-on-road: What is the most realistic way to develop an autonomous vehicle program in developing Europe? What is the most realistic and effective way to develop an autonomous vehicle program in developing Europe?
Toyota CEO Satyajit Ray said in an address to shareholders held at the Toyota European Research Centre in Kolkata, India, that in the future the company would also develop autonomous transportation systems for trucking, while also targeting the construction industry in the United States and developing a hybrid auto for transportation. In his speech to shareholders, Ray outlined three areas where the auto will help develop autonomous vehicles, and in which it will gain momentum.
First, Toyota would create a system that allows its vehicles to navigate under traffic and, at the very least, take time off. This would allow the vehicle to accelerate to avoid collision, while also allowing a driver to enjoy extended driving. He emphasized that for such a system, the company would have to establish infrastructure, test the vehicle and work with suppliers and a third company, i.e., Toyota, to get the application process started. In light of its strong position on autonomous vehicles, Toyota believes that when the world of automotive production and transport is in development, it could benefit from this system.
Toyota recently announced plans to build its first autonomous car at its international headquarters in Tokyo, with the goal of achieving a 1,100 percent market share in North America from 2014. The company will then use its autonomous vehicle to drive trucks and vans, and to operate high-speed intercontinental highways. Both of these will be developed in a collaboration with the Swedish company Energomap, with the goal of creating autonomous vehicles for highway transportation in the 20.8 percent market that will ultimately reach 2,200 vehicles. The company aims to develop autonomous vehicles for public use by 2015.
The Japanese automaker developed its own vehicle for the Tokyo Motor Show in December 2008 and is said to be aiming for the 1,100 percent market share that Toyota can achieve, which is also anticipated in light of the Japanese market with its strong track record. Toyota wants to introduce two autonomous truck models each summer, with the first to reach 2,200 cars in late 2011.
In 2008, Toyota’s CEO also said that the company had a strong focus on car-sharing. To achieve an ambitious goal of increasing its market share globally, in 2008 Toyota sold about 5.8 million cars to its existing 3,300 buyers and was the best-selling auto company in Japan for that period, according to Global Knowledge Japan.
An article about the Toyota Europe meeting appeared in the Wall Street Journal, highlighting the company’s position as an auto market leader in Europe following an estimated 7 million sales of its autonomous vehicle program between 2010 and 2013 between its United States headquarters and Toyota’s Toyota headquarters in Yokohama, Japan.
With regards to the role of European automakers in the autonomous vehicle development program, Toyota has noted that